Coach Mo' - Clayton Steward Visual Storyteller

Coach Morgan Scott looks out of the locker room on Feb 10, 2024 at Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis. Following a tense moment in-between the junior varsity and varsity games, Scott said, “I can feel when the girls are tense or if I am. I typically will joke to lighten the mood.” Prior to games she tries to “throw out some energy to them,” sometimes in the form of a “Skee-yee” she said.

As a basketball player and coach, Morgan Scott has always tried to bring out the best in those around her, an attitude she's also brought to being a new mother.

“Let’s finish on a make,” Scott told her one-year-old son, Jalyn, repeating a common phrase in the basketball community that refers to ending a practice with a successful shot.

This time, the Hickman girls basketball coach is not on the hardwood — she’s talking to Jalyn as they finish up bath time. Born to two basketball coaches, Jalyn has been lulled to sleep by the serenade of sneaker squeaks, adopted by his mom’s players, and grown up in gyms where his parents are at work. Basketball is the engine that drives the Scott household and a force that brings them all together.

Read the full article that was photographed and written for the Columbia Missourian.

Coach Morgan Scott reacts to a made basket in the second half of the game on Feb 10, 2024 at Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis. Taking advice from one of her previous coaches, Scott said, “Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you say, it matters if they feel it,” explaining how, “Energy is just something you have to play with . . . energy is contagious whether its bad or good.”

Morgan Scott carries her son, Jalyn, out of the gym during the 3rd annual Porter Basketball Academy on Sept. 3, 2023 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo. “This is Mike at work,” she said, explaining that the tournaments are her time to be more relaxed in the basketball environment.

Mike and Morgan Scott’s jerseys hang on the wall in their basement while their son, Jalyn, plays on the couch on Aug. 30, 2023 at their home in Columbia, Mo. “Basketball has brought so much stuff into our life, including us together,” Morgan said. Morgan was a four-year player for the University of Missouri’s Women’s basketball team and her husband Mike was on the practice squad before becoming a graduate assistant for the team.

Morgan Scott gives Jalyn a bath on Aug. 30, 2023 at their home in Columbia, Mo. Scott says that she tries to watch film when she can during the day as a teacher so that, “when I’m home I can just be present and not have to stay up super late.” “Important to keep some normalcy,” she said.

Coach Morgan Scott talks with parents and players at a preseason meeting on Sept. 5, 2023 at her Hickman High School classroom in Columbia. Her son Jalyn was with her and was entertained with Bluey, his favorite show, and dinner.

Coach Morgan Scott checks her son’s diaper prior to tip-off on Feb. 22, 2023 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo. She said moments like these help keep her grounded.

Coach Scott takes off Kenadi Blanford’s necklace prior to the junior varsity game on Feb. 22, 2023 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo.

Coach Morgan Scott dribbles the ball during a walk through prior to taking on Cardinal Ritter College Prep on Feb 10, 2024 at Hickman High School in Columbia. Scott was previously a player for Robin Pingeton at Mizzou from 2011-2015 and returned to Columbia to coach basketball for the Kewpies in 2020.

Coach Morgan Scott speaks to the team during a timeout on Feb 10, 2024 at Cardinal Ritter College Prep in St. Louis. “I’m going to coach you hard - I’m going to love you hard too, but I’m going to coach you hard,” Scott said.

Mike, Morgan and Jalyn Scott sit at a table after senior night on Feb. 22, 2023 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo. “I always look to Mike after games like ‘Ok what’s your evaluation on what happened,’” Scott said, “[He] is always able to give me perspective. Sometimes its things I want to hear and sometimes its not.”

Coach Morgan Scott talks to the team after the end of the game on March 4, 2024 at Blue Springs South High School in Blue Springs. “I can’t not be invested and that’s why it hurts so much when it ends,” she said.

Coach Morgan Scott hugs her mom, Carla Eye after the season ended on March 4, 2024 at Blue Springs South High School in Blue Springs. Her mom and dad made the trip from Montrose to watch their daughter coach. Scott’s high school friends, Kendall Hart and Kristin Lindsay, back row, are “Two ladies I won a state title with” at Montrose and they were also in Scott’s wedding.

Coach Scott picks her son, Jalyn, up after the win against Jeff City on Feb. 22, 2023 at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo. “He’s definitely a coach’s kid,” Scott said about her son, who frequently is in attendance for games and other team activities.